It is Party conference time and for the first time in 10 years there is real purpose in lobbying for...
It is Party conference time and for the first time in 10 years there is real purpose in lobbying for change with both major parties. It is also early enough in the election cycle to have direct influence on policy formation either through contact with Party offices or through their most influential think tanks. A good starting point is to consider the external environment in which the insurance and distribution industry will operate in a couple of years' time. Key points are:
For income protection (IP) - the new Welfare Reform tests for incapacity will affect claimants and private companies will have taken over a significant amount of benefit administration. The insurance sector challenges are, should the IP propositions be solely extra income or should the qualifying tests be easier or harder? If it is solely income, then what is required to make joint assessment achieve cost savings? If tests are different, how can easier ones be justified or harder ones be used as a test-bed for potential new government policies?
For term life and critical illness - there must be opportunities to link changing industry practice on the ongoing impact of healthy lifestyles on premiums with government action on obesity, smoking and alcohol abuse. Joint action to create the equivalent in health to the 'carbon footprint' was suggested to me recently.
For private medical insurance (PMI) - I have already mentioned high cost changes and the NHS constitution but in two years this will be in practical operation. It is probably the most important lever there has ever been for fundamental change to the NHS and its boundaries. What will it look like in practice and what are the opportunities? For example, in the event of NHS delay, there is a right to seek treatment elsewhere in the EU. Should policymakers be urged to continue resistance to cross-border healthcare or to embrace it as part of 'choice'? And how should PMI insurers change their approach to treatment abroad?
For distribution - what will the banking section look like in a couple of years' time? Will its strangle hold on distribution of payment protection insurance have ended and what will have taken its place? What will be the impact of Money Guidance? And, in the new environment, what would the independent advice sector want of the Government and how can it be fit for purpose to provide advice for all who need it - as opposed to focusing on high net worth clients?
Maybe we need to move from simply campaigning on the protection gap to a 'manifesto for change' with elements to appeal to both political parties? The time to lobby is now. Let's get on with it.
Richard Walsh is managing director of SPPR Consulting.
